First bids for Chicago Cubs due next week, sources say

By Ben Klayman

CHICAGO (Reuters) - First-round bids are due on July 18 for the Chicago Cubs baseball team, which owner Tribune Co hopes to sell along with other assets in an auction that analysts have said could top $1 billion, two sources close to the process said on Tuesday.

Ten potential owner groups were approved to bid on the Cubs by Major League Baseball (MLB), said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the sale process was ongoing.

"It's cooking," one source said. "It's happening. There's 10 approved bidders right now."

The source expects four to five bidders to make it to the next round and a winner to be identified at or near the end of the baseball season, with a deal closing by the year's end or very early next year.

The second source said it would not be a surprise, however, if the initial July 18 deadline slipped a bit.

Analysts said the team could attract bids topping $1 billion when its home park Wrigley Field and a stake in a sports cable TV network are included.

The Cubs have not won the World Series since 1908.

(Reporting by Ben Klayman, additional reporting by Robert MacMillan in New York; Editing by Derek Caney)